1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia

The 1991 Yugoslav campaign in Croatia (20 September 1991-3 January 1992) was a series of engagements between the Yugoslav army, navy, and air force and the Croatian army and national guard during the Croatian War of Independence. The Yugoslav People's Army's goal was to militarily occupy Croatia and remove the Croatian leadership elected in 1990, all with the greater goal of preserving Yugoslavia.

Beginning in August 1990, the Serbs of Croatia rebelled against the Croatian government, hoping to disrupt the elections. The Serbs formed several autonomous provinces of SFR Yugoslavia in the regions along the Bosnian border, and ethnic violence broke out between the Serbs and Croats. The YPA was sent to create buffer zones between the rebellious Serbs and the Croats, and an armored column was sent from Belgrade to Croatia to keep the peace and to protect the Serbs. The YPA forces were held back by the Croats at Kijevo, leading to the YPA embarking upon a military campaign. The YPA overran Croat town upon Croat town, and they also sought to relieve the besieged YPA outposts across the country, attacked by Croats during the "Battle of the Barracks". Soon, Slobodan Milosevic came to take command of the operation, and he had the YPA deny the Croatian government access to predominantly-Serb areas. Croatian president Franjo Tudman decided to order his men to take a stand at Vukovar, which was besieged by the Serb forces. In addition, Serb paramilitaries led by men such as Vojislav Seselj were provided with whole barracks, uniforms, weapons, and transport to the front. The campaign culminated in November and December 1992 with the Battle of Vukovar and the Siege of Dubrovnik, and a limited Croatian counterattack led to stalemate on the battlefield. On 2 January 1992, the campaign was ended by a ceasefire, but it took several months for the YPA to withdraw their forces from Croatia as they were replaced by United Nations peacekeepers. The 1991 conflict caused more than 7,000 deaths and the internal displacement of up to 600,000 people.